At first glance, Kristopher Knowles looks like your typical 13-year-old. He’s alert, athletic, and precocious. But on closer examination, you can see this young man is driven.
On Tuesday, the teen and his entourage stopped in Fort Frances on the 97th day of his 353-day cross-Canada trek to help the thousands of people like himself.
Knowles was born with biliary atresia—a disease that affects one in every 10,000 infants soon after birth. The cause is unknown and there is no cure.
This serious liver disease is the result of the destruction of the ducts that carry bile from the liver to the small intestine—ultimately resulting in the destruction of the liver itself.
Most children with this affliction don’t make it past their first birthday.
“He’s a walking miracle,” said Kristopher’s father, Kelly, who is accompanying him across Canada. “He’s had over 20 operations and he just keeps on going.”
Also accompanying him is George Marcello, the founder of the Step by Step Organ Transplant Association. Marcello definitely has been there and done that.
In 1992, Marcello was diagnosed with a terminal liver disease and given two years to live. Two years later, he was told he had two months. The following year, he was rushed to hospital with complete liver failure and told he had two days.
That’s when the miracle happened.
In another part of the country, a grieving family made the decision to donate the liver of their loved one to save another’s life. That life was Marcello’s.
Now he is trying to pay back that gift by founding the Step by Step Organ Transplant Association and mentoring Knowles in his own quest for a new liver.
“I’m told I’m number three on the waiting list right now,” the teen remarked. That means the call could come at any moment and he will have to abandon his trek to get his new liver.
In the interim, he is walking across Canada to raise awareness of the need for organ donors and money for research. Knowles began his walk in his home town of Sarnia on Jan. 8 and intends to finish it off back in Toronto on Christmas Day.
After leaving Fort Frances, he will go to Dryden and Kenora before crossing into Manitoba. He is scheduled to reach Victoria on July 16, before flying back to Toronto for the CNE.
On Aug. 6, he flies to St. Johns, Nfld., where he will head west again. Knowles said he expects to wear out eight pairs of shoes en route.
Also during that time, he hopes to raise thousands of dollars in pledges and thousands of signatures on organ donor cards.
“After the costs of this journey, all the money raised will be donated to the London Victoria Hospital and the Toronto Hospital for Sick Children,” said his dad.
There already have been some generation contributions along the way.
“There are so many people we want to thank,” said Marcello. “There’s the Super 8 motels, McDonald’s, the Rainy Lake Hotel, Sunset Communications (which is maintaining their website while in Rainy River District), La Place Rendez-Vous, and Wal-Mart.
“I especially want to thank the OPP, who have really stepped up big-time in over 74 communities throughout Ontario,” he added.
And what of young Kristopher’s plans for the future? “I want to become a surgeon,” he said.
To that end, Knowles has a tutor travelling with him. And since his marks in Grade 7 were so high, he will be allowed to enter high school directly as soon as he finishes his walk.
In the meantime, you can keep track of his progress, and make a pledge or donation, by going to his website at www.kristopherswish.ca. There you can read all about his life’s story and that of Marcello.
There also is a toll-free number to make a pledge (1-866-992-3645).
And don’t forget to sign that donor card on your driver’s licence. As Kristopher’s website says, “Don’t take your organs to heaven, God knows we can use them here.”
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
